Kevin Doyle said that he left Reading with a heavy heart after moving to Wolves for a club-record £6.5million.

The 25-year-old striker signed a four-year deal at Molineux yesterday and will join up with former Royals goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann at the newly promoted Premiership club.

Doyle insists that had nobody been willing to meet Royals’ asking-price, he would have been just as happy to stay at the club.

He told the Post: “It’s sad to leave. I had the best four years of my life here.

“At the same time if nobody had wanted to meet the fee then I would have stayed and been happy to stay here as it’s an exciting time for the club with the new manager (Brendan Rodgers).

“I love everything about the club from the top to the bottom and so do my family – I have been looked after so well here and I can’t thank everyone enough. If Reading had gone up I would have stayed.”

Doyle was also keen to make sure he was playing at the highest level possible ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

“With it being a World Cup year of course it was important for me to be in the Premiership,” added the Republic of Ireland striker. “And if I can score some more goals in the Premiership then that can only be a bonus for myself and hopefully for Ireland.”

Doyle signed a new contract with Royals in November last year, but part of that deal included the £6.5million release clause which Wolves matched four weeks ago.

Doyle said: “There was an agreement with the club at the end of last season that if we didn’t go up and someone did come in for me then I could move on.

“There were quite a few clubs interested, but Wolves were the first to show an interest. And going to the training ground the other week I just got the feeling it was the right place to go.”

Doyle made 163 appearances for Royals, scoring 55 times, and always enjoyed a good relationship with the fans.

“Even when I wasn’t playing my best they were always behind me,” he said. “The best year ever was probably my first season when we went up into the Premiership.

“I don’t think I’ll ever top that in my career. I would never have dreamt of getting into the Premiership in my first year.

“Hopefully Reading will be back there as soon as possible.”

Doyle said that Rodgers was made aware of his situation before he came in to replace Steve Coppell.

He added: “Brendan was told about the clause in my contract and he knew I would probably be leaving if somebody came in.

“He sent me a text to wish me good luck and I think he’ll do a great job at Reading. It’s exciting times and in a way it’s sad I won’t be there.”